Collins Matamela, a station staff ambassador, confirmed his words. “Plus-minus 4 000 people have been coming through the Diepkloof station since yesterday [17 May].”

He said the staff were pleased that Rea Vaya was stepping up to the plate and deploying additional buses to cater for the increase.

According to Van Zijl, all of Rea Vaya extra buses have been deployed to the various routes, to ease the congestion.

The frequency of buses at stations has also increased because of the increase in demand.

Passengers have been queuing all the way out of stations and squeezing themselves into buses, with many of them mentioning it as the “best way” to travel to the inner city and surrounds.

Petrol pump attendants near the stations have also noticed the increase in the number of commuters using Rea Vaya buses. Anannia Baloyi, at the BP garage opposite Diepkloof Station, said “the stations are very busy from 6am to 7.30am and then again from 4.30pm to 7.30pm”.

“People are turning to the Rea Vaya as it’s the most reliable.”

Rea Vaya station staff members in the inner city have congratulated the system on “doing a good job during the strike”, said one at Library Gardens Station.